Are you being mindful?
Last week I wrote about being intentional about our mindfulness. When I went away last weekend to the coast I realised how beautiful our wonderful world is and how much I thoroughly enjoyed not rushing from one place to another.
The thing about being intentional is that usually this starts with routine. So for me I decided to sit down and write down what I wanted to feel like during the week and what I would need to do to put this feeling into action.
I want to feel calm and peaceful was my intention for the week and man did I totally have the best week as a result. How could I achieve this?
SLEEP!
Yes precious sleep was what my body was craving. I am after all making this beautiful human life inside of me. Baby Braybrooke is now 16 weeks old. In my first trimester I was absolutely exhausted. I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t get morning sickness but man the exhaustion knocked me around. I just can’t stay up like I used to. (And I really shouldn’t have been burning the candle pre wombmate days anyways).
I have been going to sleep by 9pm pretty much most nights this week with the exception of attending my lounge group, a small group of my church friends who get together to learn, pray and to fellowship with one another. And you know what that is pretty important as well. I had more clarity and was bursting with energy. It felt amazing. I didn’t sleep in on the weekend either to give my body the chance to adjust to the new timetable. It’s been absolutely lapping it up.
I’ve also been intentional about getting outside and also doing things that are fun. I’ve been reading books for fun and soaking in the bath and not feeling guilty about having to rush off somewhere. Which leads me to the question:
What are you girls doing for fun?
Make Space For Fun
Last week I talked very briefly about ‘Rushing Women’s Syndrome’ where as women we rush from one place/job/event to another. Why is it so hard for us to factor in fun?
Here are some of the excuses I hear:
+ I don’t have time.
+ I have to get all my jobs done first before I can do something for myself.
+ My children need me.
But what if we:
+ Created space.
+ Spent a minute doing something for ourselves and then did our jobs.
+ Spent some alone time in order to be a mum who is completely mindful when around her children.
Imagine how much more productive and FUN we could be. Rushing doesn’t gain you anything. But being intentional does. What if you timetabled in mindful fun time? And I’m not talking about scrolling mindlessly through social media!
What if we called our friends on the phone instead of sending them a text?
But how can I do this when my time is so limited?
Start prioritising. Write down all the things that need to be done. Give it a rating and start with the most important item first and work your way through your list. Set a timer. Reward yourself when it’s all done.
Maybe it might even be worth putting your ‘You’ time at the top of that priority ladder. What is it that you actually like to do? What do you like to listen to? Do you long for a soak in a bath? Do you just want to take your shoes off and run through the sprinklers like you used to do as a child? I say bring out the inner child and throw caution to the wind and have fun!
My challenge to you this week is to find the time wasting suckers in your life, identify them and create some new habits. Write down three things you would love to do this week. What are the first steps you need to do to achieve them? How can you achieve space for them?
I’d seriously love to know! Let’s go on this journey together. Psalms 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.” It doesn’t say rush around filling our days. It’s a conscious choice to just be present in the moment, in His divine love.
How can we be more conscious, still and fun today?
And speaking of fun the winner of the Lemon Canary Mini Gift Prize Pack is:
Kendall Kwiatkowski
Kendall please email your address details to: thebutterflyhouse@dianabraybrooke.com
If you loved this post share it using the buttons below and please comment below the three things you would love to do this week in order to create space to be more fun. I’d love to know.
EEEKKKK!!!! I WON!! I won something!!! YAY!!!
but now i’m totally distracted from what I was going to say about your post! Essentially (although prior to the last sentence, i had it all ‘done up nicely’ in my head 😉 ) I was going to say- man woman, it’s like you write your blog just for me.
I have been trying to make a conscious effort to get up earlier, also meaning I need to go to bed earlier. Another of my goals, Im trying to do is go outside with the girls, sit on the tramp, or the hammock or something. just watch them play. Also, im trying to not post things on FB 🙂
Thanks so much lovely lady! wonderful blog and wonderful to win xox
Hi Kendall. I’m glad that you are so excited. I’ll try and mail that to you by the end of the week. You will get it next week some time. Thank you for supporting “The Butterfly House” and for encouraging ladies in all that you do. Yep I have been getting up earlier too and going to bed earlier. The cool thing is that I find I start my day less frazzled too. I’ve set myself a technology detox. I haven’t been that great at t but it is a work in progress. Enjoy those lovely girls of yours and simply delight in the fun. xxoo
I absolutely love this Diana. As you know, I’m a HUGE fan and advocate for Me Time and self care. We must make it a priority and get creative about how we can find time for it. What a fantastic post xo
Thanks Naomi for your encouragement and you have created such a lovely opt in focussing on this! You’re doing so well with this all and I know that you are going on a new adventure so this is going to be even more so important.
yes. finding that precious ME TIME can be very hard. days are filled for me with caring for my family. making sure my husband is well fed while he tirelessly works on getting our car collection ready for resale. looking after my kids even tho they are teens. going to drs appointment. going to physio. so my days are full and still managing my rehabilitation after my injury. so my life has truly changed from that as a working mother and wife. I dont know how u did it then so getting me time is always last in the list. but today I did just that. I made sure hubby had pre cooked food for the day and a dear friend picked me up and took me for a drive to Canungra where they have decoratedtthe little town in pink for cancer. we had a leisurely day looking through a few boutiques meeting some lovely people. then my dear friend bought my groceries while I rested. it was a lovely me day and I definitely will put that on top of my list and be mindful that for my family to function . I. need to time for me….. xx
Debra, I love all the shifts that are going on in your life. The more you tap into that intuition and continue to be kind to yourself you are seriously going to unlock so much beauty. You already are. Thank you for being so honest and authentic.